Prior art offers various types of disposable plates—made from, among other things, paper, paperboard, cardboard, Styrofoam and plastic—for use in place of permanent dinner plates at parties, picnics and other gatherings. Other adaptations of disposable plates provide means for holding the plates together with other items such as beverages or utensils. Many such disposable plates are not sufficiently rigid or stable. When loaded with food, the plates deform, fold or bend, and become difficult to hold securely. In addition, when such disposable plates are stacked or nested together, users encounter difficulty in taking hold of or separating such plates from each other. Moreover, many such disposable plates are complicated and/or expensive to manufacture.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive hand-held plate for use at parties, picnics and other gatherings that provides a means for securely holding the plate, and for taking hold of and separating it from a stack of such plates.